Death Note AU - "Justice"

[splinteredstar]

This is that AU - or at least the start of it - that I was talking about last post. Now, before I start it, I have a few words, just as a preface of sorts.

Now, it is only fair and right to, when writing and especially when writing fanfiction, try to keep your own philosophical opinions out of the story as much as possible unless they fit in with the source material. That's just good writing, and in most series it's not that much of an issue. However, in DN it is near impossible to keep your philosophical opinions out of it, because with I suspect that part of the point of the series was to get people thinking about right and wrong and such. There's no way to keep your philosophy out of it, because the series is about philosophy.  Thus, I won't really bother trying.  So, yes, I will write this according to my philosophy and my understanding of right and wrong. All of you reading this may not agree with it, but I cannot write it according to anyone's understanding but my own.

...I hope that makes sense.

Anyway, on to the fic.

Title: at the moment, Justice.

Timing: Second half, but exactly when I'm not sure.

Pairing: None, maybe implied Light/L. Maybe.

Rating: I'm not sure. Probably no higher than pg-13, though.

...Yea, can you tell that this is a new idea in my head? It's very rough....It'll get polished more once I've heard y'all's opinion on it.

Light was so convinced that he was right, that Kira was justice and god and righteousness, that when he saw the child crying on the sidewalk, his first thought was,

“Here is a suffering innocent I must help.”

 

He went over to the child, and gently asked, “Why are you crying?” The team was watching him and Misa was beaming, and he knew they suspected nothing still. All I need is a name…Tell me a name and I’ll make sure you never have to cry again…He thought.

 

The child – he couldn’t have been older than nine and looked poor and scraggily, with bruised knees and dirty hair – looked up at him, sniffling. Then the child put on a tough face and said, as indignant as a child can get,

 

“I won’t tell you! You’ll just laugh or get mad like everyone else!”

 

Light smiled softly and said, “No, I promise I won’t. What’s your name?” He asked, trying to get the child to trust him a little. “My name’s Light.”

 

The boy turned a bit away from him, but sniffed out, “Hataku Yarigato. And I still won’t tell you.”

 

Light looked back to the team, and they nodded to him, smiling. He sat down next to Hataku. “Why not? I said I won’t laugh or get angry.”

 

Hataku looked uncomfortable for a moment, but then asked,

 

“Do you promise not to get angry or laugh? Or tell anyone?”

 

Light nodded, still keeping the gentle look on his face. “I promise.”

 

“Even if it’s something that could get me in trouble?”

 

Light chuckled a bit. “I promise, don’t worry. Now, what’s wrong?” Even if it were something the child had done wrong, Light figured that such a young boy couldn’t do anything worth death.

 

Hataku looked down at his shoes, examining the scuffs and teas on them. “My dad died of a heart attack a week ago, right as he was telling me a bedtime story.” He finally said. Light’s eyes widened. “Everyone, even Grandma and Grandpa, are saying that it’s punishment from Kira.” Hataku stopped looking at his shoes and looked at Light. “’Cause my dad used to do really nasty things. He and mom wouldn’t talk about it, but I heard people talking about what he’s done. They said he was a bank robber…” The child’s voice trailed off. “Everyone’s saying that he deserved to die, that this was Kira’s justice for his crimes.”

 

Light fought to keep the shock off his face. For a moment he was silent. Then he asked, “Do you think it was?”

 

Hataku whirled on him, angry. “No! I don’t care what my dad did before! He was a good guy! He was trying to make it better for me and Mom!”  He balled his fists and looked down at the ground. “If Kira did kill him, then Kira was wrong, because my dad wasn’t evil! If Kira killed him, then Kira is evil and I won’t forgive him!”

 

The boy looked around and forced himself to calm down. “I know everyone thinks that Kira is so great and that he’s protecting good people, but then why did Dad have to die? I know he did bad things before, but he was trying so hard…” The boy started to cry again, but wiped his eyes. “If Kira were justice then my dad wouldn’t be dead.”

 

Light only stared at the boy, unable to keep all the shock off his face. The boy’s words echoed in his head, again and again. “If Kira were justice….”

 

Hataku looked at him, obviously noticing the shock. “I know, it’s sacrilege. Kira is god, right? If you want to turn me into the worshipers, then go a head.” The boy looked away to hide suddenly dead and cold eyes. “I’d rather die than live under such an evil god.”

 

Light swallowed hard, but then shook his head. He looked back to the team for a moment, and then said to the boy in a conspiratorial tone,

 

“Hey, can I tell you a secret?”

 

Hataku looked at him oddly for a moment, but then nodded. Light continued,

“I think you’re right. In fact, I think Kira’s just a human.” Light grinned. “Would you believe that I’m trying to catch him so he doesn’t do this anymore?”

 

Hataku’s eyes snapped open wide. “R-Really? I thought everyone was too afraid or in love with him…”

 

“Nope,” Light smiled. “I’m glad I’m not alone in wanting him stopped, though.” It was a battle to keep himself calm, and ignore the chorus in his head of, “If Kira were justice…” But Light was Light, and it wouldn’t have been the first time his acting skills had saved him.

 

Hataku smiled, for real, and it surprised Light.  “…Could you do me a favor, then?” He asked, slowly.

 

“Of course.” Light promised. “Anything I can do I will.”

 

“If you do catch Kira, could you tell me, so I can see him?”

 

Light took on the look of a teaching adult. “Now, you shouldn’t be vengeful…”

 

Hataku gave him a sour look. “I know. I won’t hurt him. I…I just want to know why he killed Dad, if he did.”

 

Light swallowed hard again, and then nodded. “I promise I’ll let you know. Can I have a way to contact you?”

 

Hataku brightened for a moment, but then became sad again. “I’d give you my address, but since we were kinda poor anyway and with Dad dying, we might not be staying in that house any more…” He seemed to curl into himself and he said, far to bitter for a boy his age, “Everyone says that being poor is a punishment from Kira for something we had done, and if we were really good people we would be rich, not having to work for anything.”

 

Light looked to the side for a moment. Then he looked back and said,

 

“Okay. I think I’ll be able to find you anyway, so don’t worry about it.” He gave his best encouraging smile. “I’ve got some nice equipment that I’m using to kind Kira.”

 

Hataku smiled, and said,

 

“Thanks….”

 

Light stood – much to the boy’s annoyance – and told him,

 

“Now go home, and take care of your mother, okay?”

 

Hataku said proudly,

 

“Of course!” and ran off, presumably to his home.

 

Light went back over to the team, brushing the dust off his jacket. One of them – probably Matsuda – said,

 

“Poor kid…That’s why we need to catch Kira.” All of the others nodded, and they continued on their way to HQ, words still echoing in Light’s mind.

 

“If Kira were Justice….”

 

 

 

 

That night after everyone else had left, Light looked up the boy and his family.

 

The father had been a bank robber, indeed, and a good one. On his last heist, ten years before, he had killed one of the guards and injured several bystanders, only to get caught as we walked out the door.  He had avoided jail time by testifying against his partners, and never spent any time in jail to pay for his crime.

 

It was only just that he died for his sins.

 

But that boy…That boy insisted that no matter what he had one, his father was not evil. That Kira was evil for killing him. That his father was a good man.

 

It was just a child’s love, Light decided, but that didn’t settle his mind. He hadn’t written that name now, but Mikami might have….He would have to check. There was no reason for this to bother him this much, but it was a distraction and he could afford none while starting battle with the flawed copies of L.

 

It made no sense, and it bothered him through the night. 

Comments

[serria.livejournal.com]

I like it. :-) There is a problem in Light's reasoning - actually, in my eyes, the problem in the reasoning of anyone who uses labels like good and evil. It's that there are gray areas. Do good intentions justify doing an act that is morally wrong? Is it morally wrong at all if the thing is for a greater good?

Light is such a child. He received an unfortunate amount of power when his mind was only 17 years old and therefore quite immature, and because he gives himself a "holy crusade" he doesn't really have the chance to mature. The world just isn't black and white.

I suppose it all comes down to preferences. Certainly Light killed people who would likely never reform, etc. Because of publicity this sets an example to the world - leading to a significantly lower crime rate. Meaning that the majority of the public was very happy with Kira. However, to the victims and those who loved the victims - it's as things always are, conflicted and viewed as unjust.

Good work with the writing. :-)

[starsplinter.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you like it!

Yes, there are gray areas, but - in my opinion, of course - it is always closer to one or the other. You've got a point with the intent, though... Hmmm...How do I explain this and make sense? Okay, I'm going to get a bit theological and spiritual for a minute, if you don't mind.

Basically, as far as I understand it, a lot of what what makes something good or evil/sinful is the whether or not it damages the soul. Malicious killing or killing out of selfishness is damaging the soul, and that is why it is wrong (among other things, which I'll get to in a minute). What Light does damages his soul - and you can watch his mental and spiritually state degenerate as the series progresses. One of my main issues with this fic is how I'm supposed to get Light to fix that sort of spiritual damage....

You're right - that lack of maturity is one of his main issues. He almost gets LESS mature as it goes on, and I think that is the main reason he loses to Near in the end. At his prime, he wouldn't have lost.

Ah, but there's the key word - 'Likely'. Yes, they may never have reformed or redeemed themselves. But to the point they died, there was a chance. Light, in killing them, deprived them of that chance. By killing them, he assured that they never would become good people. That is one of the main reasons that murder is a sin. Light doesn't understand that people change.

Yes, the most of the public supported Kira. That means nothing - a lot of dictators have seemingly perfect countries supported by cruelty and death. And I doubt Light considered the view of those victims and the people who loved them. There are more things, but I'll talk about those when they come up in the fic.

And thank you! I'm worried about Light's characterization....He's hard to write, you know? I'll try to write more, but I'm working on other stories with this, so it might be a bit.


Splintered Star